Who Is First In Iran?

An election will be held next month in Iran to determine the name of its next president. About thirty minutes before expiration of time for submitting one’s name to run for president, two men appeared on the scene. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani,who once had been president, and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, the buddy of current President Ahmadinejad, both showed up and submitted their names. Each has a constituency,but the real question is which one has the consituency of Ayatollah Khamenei. Mashaei has a daughter who is married to the son of Ahmadinejad, and Rafsanjani has been around for years and has excellent connections with many clerics.

It is possible for Khamenei to decide to cancel the candidacy of anyone connected to Ahmadinejad because the Ayatollah does not enjoy having the upstart president challenge his authority. Did Khamenei give his blessing to Rafsanjani? Did the Ayatollah tell Ahmadinejad to bug off?